Place Where I Belong
by Zmijajuri
Summary: It's hard being Daddy's little girl when your dad is hated by everyone around you. GrimmjowxOC. Rated M for future violence and language.
1. Chapter 1 Meeting the Girl

"I realized something today," a girl- or 'young woman', as she preferred to be called- spoke to her pet ferret. "I really don't like people anymore."

The ferret, who was affectionately known as Louis the Third, wriggled in his owners grasp in response. His owner, who was either affectionately or resentfully known as Zakuro, depending on who you're asking, gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Thank you so much for your concern, my dear Louis. But I would rather not talk about it. Wallowing in self-pity seems a lot better at the moment." She nodded solemnly, and flopped back onto her futon with a thud. Louis the ferret scurried away, lest he suffer any more squeezing at the hands of Zakuro.

* * *

Truly, Zakuro _did_ want to talk, but it wasn't the same as talking to a real person. And who could she talk to now, anyway? Everyone had become so distant. Most people didn't talk to her unless it was for official business. She was just waiting for someone to attack her outright.

These things she could deal with. It was the isolation from those she was closest to that hurt. Zakuro was a shinigami, it is worth mentioning; she was neither exceptionally strong, nor very weak, but she was a shinigami none the less. She was an officer of the Third Division, and it was a division she enjoyed very much being a part of until recently. Recently, things had gone bad. Even more recently, she found out she was no longer going to be a part of the Third Division.

She had been called to her fukutaicho's office nearly as soon as she had arrived at work that day. Zakuro loved her fukutaicho; he was her best friend. She had known Kira Izuru literally all her life and she took it upon herself to make him "not such a sad little puppy". This lead her to constantly shower him with hugs and nicknames.

"Zu~Ru~Kun!~" she chimed, hugging him from behind. He jumped up, startled, looking at Zakuro with wide eyes.

"Zakuro. Please sit down." She raised her eyebrows, but did as she was told, taking a seat across from him.

"I know you're not going to like this," he began, breaking eye contact, "but we believe that with your talents you would be much more fit for the Second Division. Soi-Fon taicho has already agreed to this transfer. You have a week to get your affairs in-"

She broke him off with a wide, close-eyed grin. Izuru's breath caught in his throat, causing Zakuro to smile wider. "It's okay, 'Zuru." She got out of her chair, put her hands in her pockets and started making her way towards the door. "I get the idea, 'kay?"

After she had left the division grounds, her smile dropped. 'I should have known something was wrong,' she thought, resentfully glaring back at the Third Division. 'He didn't call me Zaki.'

* * *

Now, Zaki was a fairly pessimistic person, despite her tendency to smile as a default. Her mother would never know the girl had a negative thought in her mind, however. Ever since her father had left, Zakuro did everything she could to make things seem positive to her mother.

So she told her mother about her 'wondrous' transfer, about how she 'thinks they might even make me a seated officer!' She saw the worry in her Ma's eyes. Really, her mother didn't need to worry, because Zaki already figured everything out. Her biggest strength was in Kido. She was pathetic at hand-to-hand. They only wanted her in the Second to keep an eye on her. If they see any suspicious behavior, they'll just arrest her right there. Still, she kept positive for her Ma. She didn't smile though.

Her Ma couldn't take it when she smiled. She looked too much like her father.

Zakuro looked through the photographs that she kept hidden in her dresser. They were all of her and her father. They were all she had left of him. She was her daddy's little girl, truly. The only clue that she was even related to her mother was the wide orange eyes that they shared. Everything else was exactly like her daddy, from the light gray hair to the fox-faced smile.

It's hard when you're daddy's little girl and your daddy's a traitor. It's even harder when you still love him. It's the worst when you're not even allowed to be his daughter anymore.

She was now Senhou Zakuro. They made her use her mother's surname after her father left. But she liked who she was before. She liked being Ichimaru Zakuro.

And because of that, she will never belong in the Soul Society.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Hey there. Zmija here. I know this chapter is probably boring, but it's needed to set up who Zaki is, and her motivation for the things she'll do in the next two or three chapters. I know I didn't go into much depth with her personality as of yet, but you'll see in the next chapter. This is my first story on this site, so reviews would be really appreciated so I know what I can improve!

**Next Chapter:** Zaki's final mission as a member of the Third Division: join Histugaya's advance squad and investigate the arrancar in Karakura! Will Zakuro finally snap at the lack of trust? Will Zaki convice that weird girl with the bald fetish to kidnap Ikkaku? And who is that guy with the blue hair?

Find out next time!


	2. Chapter 2 Vacation?

Sometimes, when everything around you is, quite frankly, going to complete shit, the best thing to do is tell the establishment to screw itself and take a day off of work. Because if you keep working and working, stress will undoubtedly pile up until you feel as though your best option is simply to get things over with and go on a murderous rampage.

"Such stress makes work much too difficult," Zakuro said in a message to her fukutaicho, explaining that she would be taking a leave of absence until the time of her transfer. "I do hope you won't have too much trouble, 'Zuru-kun. ~" The mischievous girl ignored the reply of her lieutenant, hoping to make him sweat a bit more. While he was indeed pretty much furious at her obvious impersonation of her father, the thought occurred to him that just _maybe _she was downright pissed at what she believed was a sudden betrayal of her trust. Either way, it was a stalemate, Zakuro didn't feel like going to work, and hiding from life in Rangiku's office seemed like a great option.

It is in Matsumoto Rangiku's office that we find Zakuro, lounging on the floor while Rangiku made a half-hearted attempt at starting her work for the day. It was a very common occurrence; and while Hitsugaya never cared for Zaki, she kept Rangiku in high spirits and tried to convince her to finish her work 'so we can go play without Shiro-taicho followin' us around', so she was allowed to stay, but was mostly ignored.

After a few minutes of Zakuro shifting positions on the floor with heavy sighs, Rangiku pushed aside her work and swiveled in her chair to face the young woman. Her low ponytail was disheveled, with a few wavy strands falling loose. Orange eyes stared up at her morosely through too-long silver bangs in a classic 'puppy-dog' expression. Rangiku nearly fell from her chair rushing over to embrace the younger girl.

"Aww, my little Za-chan! Get that sad look off of that cute little face of yours and tell your Ran-obaa-chan what's wrong."

Sniffling, Zaki threw her arms around Rangiku. "Uwaa, Ran-obaa-chan is the best person in the world! She cares about her poor little Za-chan's fragile state of mind and heart in such troubling times, unlike a certain sad little puppy of a fukutaicho!~" And so, Zakuro explained to her dear friend about the 'horror my life has been' and how she 'refused to work for a division that would so easily replace such a valuable Soul Reaper, without as much as a complementary vacation!'.

Bless Rangiku's heart, because despite all of her faults, she was the best listener when you really needed it. She 'hmm'd' and 'ahh'd' and cussed in all the right places, going right along with Zaki's theatrics. Zaki huffed at the end of her rant, resting her head against Rangiku's shoulder.

"Ran-chan actually listens to me. I wish Ran-chan was my Ma instead of that crazy old bat I live with." She looked away, not wanting to see the older woman's reaction. If she saw how her eyes softened, how her smile lifted, she would have felt so much guiltier.

"You know what, Za-chan? I think I vacation is exactly what you need. I'll get Izuru to sign off on it and everything, so don't you worry. Go home and get some rest, okay baby?"

Zaki nodded, giving Rangiku one last squeeze before she left. She didn't want to go home just yet; her things were already packed, and her mother was exhausting her. 'I suppose its okay to make someone want to do what you want to do,' she reasoned as she watched the sky from the high branches of a tree, 'if they want to do something to help you, anyway.'

She did love Rangiku like a mother, that was true. And she knew that Rangiku knew this in her heart. They both secretly believed they would have been a much happier family, Zakuro Gin and Rangiku. But Zaki only said this out loud when she needed something.

And she needed to get away. It was a perfectly good reason, she believed, for her actions. As long as it's for a good reason, she had been taught, it's not manipulation.

* * *

It was two days later that Zakuro got the official notice of her 'vacation'. She scanned the note briefly, seeing the official signatures of fukutaicho Kira Izuru and taicho Hitsugaya Toshiro. She squealed in glee, squeezing Louis the ferret to her chest as she spun in a circle, grinning her close-eyed grin.

Wait. She abruptly stopped her twirling, dropping Louis onto her futon. Hitsugaya taicho? She picked up the letter, carefully reading it through. She held it close to her face in an attempt to read it, squinting her eyes- her reading glasses had been lost in the shuffle long ago, and she had never bother to buy another pair- mumbling to herself.

"-and as such, Senhou Zakuro has been chosen as a last-minute addition to the Hitsugaya Advance Team's venture into Karakura Town in the hopes that she will benefit from more experience in the field."

She cried out in shock and anger, throwing the letter on the ground as she quickly scrambled to change out of her casual clothes and into her Shihakusho while grabbing her bags. She ran out the door without a word to her mother, quickly snaring Louis as he attempted an escape

Of course Rangiku would neglect to mention her 'vacation' was a mission, and that the date of departure was today.

Zakuro pouted the entire journey to the World of the Living, hiding behind Matsumoto. She had already been scolded for her lateness by the Tiniest Captain and endured countless jibes from Ikkaku and Yumichika, then scolded again after throwing Louis at Ikkaku's face. Ikkaku and Zaki had a 'friendly rivalry', which should be read as 'undying desire to piss each other off', which had existed since their first milliseconds of knowing each other.

Her mood lightened considerably when she found that their first stop would be Kurosaki Ichigo's house, however; when the Ryoka invaded the Soul Society, she had not been permitted to fight him, but had heard much of his power. Zaki was still considering this her vacation, no matter how much work it was supposed to be, so the fact that she started out sightseeing was amazing! The look on his face when they came in through his window, his blush after Rangiku's 'persuasion', it was priceless! Kurosaki was quick to react to her giggles, turning on his heel to point at her accusingly.

"And you! I don't even know who the hell you even ARE!" He yelled accusingly.

With a lazy grin, Zakuro waved, her eyes twinkling with laughter. He was going to be very entertaining.

"Mah, mah, Kurosaki-san is active, definitely! I wish I could fight him to see how strong he really is..."

"Please," Ikkaku scoffed, "I bet you couldn't even beat one of those Fourth-Division punks, much less this kid."

"And I bet that Ikkaku-san would let one of those 'Fourth-Division punks' have their way with him if Kenpachi said to, but I don't go and point it out all the time." She quickly gave him what will be known from this point onward as the 'Ichimaru Grin' and turned back to Ichigo as the remaining shinigami restrained everyone's favorite Third Seat.

"Anyway, my name is Zakuro!~ I'm sure it's a pleasure to meet you."

The orange-haired boy gave her a confused look. "Saku-ro?"

"No, no, _Zakuro. _With a 'z'."

"Za-kuro?"

"Close. Long first syllable." She pouted, glaring up at him through her bangs, drumming her fingers in impatience.

" Zakura?"

Throwing her hands up in frustration, Zaki picked up a sharpie and scribbled the kanji for her name on his hand.

"…Ru? What?"

"Just call me Zaki, 'kay?" Her head was drooped in depression.

"That works."

As the various shinigami filtered out of the Kurosaki residence to find places to stay, Zakuro stomped on Renji's foot.

"Senhou! What was that for?"

"You told me the dumbass was good at Japanese!"

* * *

The rest of Zaki's day was spent shopping with Rangiku; Between Rangiku's disregard for basically anyone, and Zakuro's amazing gift of persuasion, Orihime stood no chance, and her home temporarily became theirs. Normally, Zaki loved shopping with her Ran-obaa-chan, but all she wanted to do was to go to her temporary home. Her gigai was uncomfortable and the school uniform she was given was too short for someone of her height. Most of all, it was the crowd. She had never been around this many people at once, and she hated it. The normally calm girl was not smiling as she usually would- her eyes were shifting constantly and she was tensed to the point of being partially hunched over. She could barely hear Rangiku over the sound of the people around her and her own labored breathing.

Finally, Rangiku snapped her fingers in front of Zakuro's eyes, breaking her from her paranoid trance. She had nearly walked right into the elder shinigami.

"I knew your bangs were getting too long, Za-chan. You have to tilt your head up just to see anymore, girly!"

She immediately put her hands on her forehead, protecting her bangs. "But I like them. They make me look all cool 'n mysterious."

"I know, I know. That's why I bought you these!" She handed her a small piece of cardboard that held hairclips on the front. Zakuro took them off, curiously snapping them open and shut. Matsumoto parted her bangs while she was distracted, pushing the largest portion to the left. Taking the hairclips from Zakuro, she clipped two on the right side and one on the left. She turned Zakuro to look in her reflection in a storefront.

The look made her face look longer, she supposed, and definitely older. She adjusted the height of the clip on the left side and poked at a pimple on her forehead, frowning. The longer she looked, however, the more she liked it.

"Hey, Ran-obaa-chan?"

"Yes? Do you like it? It looks great on you, you have to like it!"

"Let's go buy more! C'mon, c'mon, I want those ones with the pandas!"

By the end of the day, Zakuro had a large bag full of hairclips and had switched the pink ones she had been given for leopard-printed ones. She followed Mastumoto back to Orihime's, eyes looking toward the sky distractedly. She slowly came to a stop, turning her head and craning her neck to get a better view.

"Mah? I wonder."

She could have sworn she saw a man with blue hair on top of the building.

* * *

Everyone was back at their respective dwelling places, but Zakuro couldn't sit still. She had only eaten about half of her dinner before she excused herself to go to the bathroom and left through the window, taking a walk to clear her head. She wandered around town out of her gigai, walking along rooftops to avoid the still-crowded streets. Her head was pounding, and she couldn't concentrate. Zakuro had a tremendous sensitivity to Spiritual Pressures, and the arrival of several powerful hollows was causing her terrible headaches. She stretching her arms over her head, she mulled over her options; Kurosaki and Kuchiki were the closest, but she was still annoyed at the substitute shinigami, and the Kuchiki distrusted her to the point that she asked to accompany Zaki on her missions to keep an eye on her. She could go and tell Ikkaku and Yumichika, as they would probably be more than happy to slay the hollows, but she had no energy to argue with either of them. It was a given she would argue with them whenever they would meet. The next closest was Hitsugaya, and it was him she decided upon- after all, he was in charge.

Just as Zakuro had picked up her zanpaku-to in preparation to leave her position, a sharp pain in between her eyes caused her to buckle over in pain. The world spun as she fell over, rolling to her side. She felt as though someone had taken their zanpaku-to and stabbed her between the eyes, dragging the blade up through her skull. She vomited and rolled over, groaning. After nearly ten minutes, she staggered to her feet, wiping tears of pain from her eyes. She made her way towards the closest battle. It was no use warning anyone now; they had obviously found out the source of that monstrous pressure- Arrancar.

"This… Is a shitty vacation…"

* * *

**Author's Note**: Ohwow, this is a very long chapter for me. I'm so used to writing drabbles... And for some reason, these lines won't work...

To clarify a few things; Zaki loves Rangiku, but she doesn't know how to ask for her help, so she just does things that make her want to help her. Does that make sense...? I have no idea where Zaki and Ikkaku's "rivalry" comes from; it just happened. The same goes for Zakuro's various speech ticks(the "mah's", ect.). As for the difficulty with Zakuro's name, the exchange between her and Ichigo actually happened with me and a friend. Her name is pronounced with a long 'a' sound and a very short 'u' sound. When we looked up her name, the first word that came up for the same kanji was 'Ru'.

(Zakuro means pomegranate; Zaki is blossom.) I'll put her bio on my profile to give everyone a better idea of what she looks like.

Also, thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed! It means quite a lot to me, I'm very happy. =)

**Next Chapter:** An early invasion? Zakuro heads toward the nearest fight: Kurosaki's! Will she assist him, despite her weak state? Or will stay a silent observer, gathering valuable information on this new foe? Something sinister is coming in the next chapter of Place Where I Belong!


	3. Chapter 3 In Some Deep Shit

Shuffle, stumble, stagger; that is how Zakuro made her way to the fight.

Waiting, watching, lying in wait; that is how Zakuro participated. Bright orange eyes followed the fight, taking in everything and anything about the enemy that she could. The small body on the ground, the black blade black uniform moving faster and faster against the blue-haired enemy decked out in white. The blue haired man threw Ichigo almost faster than she could see- and right into Zaki. She cried out, clutching her stomach.

"You…" The Arrancar looked her over, seeming almost bored, and swung her out of the way of the fight without much power so she landed on a pile of rubble. "Stay out of the way." At the same moment, the badly injured Kuchiki rasped out the same word, eyes burning with an intensity that betrayed her injuries.

"You…" the smaller girl attempted to prop herself up with the help of her gigai to look up at the girl sitting safely out of harm's way. "You traitor… You were waiting here this entire time…? Just watching…?!" Zakuro froze. Well sure, she was waiting. And sure, she could've jumped in the fight, but she would've just died anyway. And why was that little midget glaring at her? Hell if she knew why that blue-headed prick- who was handing Ichigo's ass to him quite nicely- threw her out of the way. Probably just thought she wasn't worth trying to get her blood off his uniform.

But for once, she was at a loss for words. She just stared at Rukia, frozen like a deer in headlights from that simple statement. The word 'traitor' kept running through her head, and she could see the hateful, fear-filled eyes of her comrades staring at her. Her mind was racing, and all she could think was 'Oh God, oh God, they're going to kill me when I get back. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.'

It took Ichigo's massive burst of spiritual pressure to snap her out of it. She bolted upwards just in time to be hit by a spray of blood.

"Guh!" She furiously wiped at her face, shuddering, mumbling about diseases.

"Sheath your sword… Grimmjow." The world seemed to pause for a moment. Zakuro wiped the rest of the blood out her eyes and looked up slowly. "Tousen-san…?" The Arrancar- Grimmjow, Tousen said? - looked positively enraged, yelling and cussing at the former captain.

The two started walking back to the black portal in the sky as Tousen lectured Grimmjow- Zaki had been on the receiving end of that deal _many_ times- when Zaki shouted out.

"W-wait! Tousen-san! Please, take me with you!" She yelled out desperately. They stared each other down for a few moments. No one seemed to move or breathe. Looking back on the moment, Zaki would wonder how a blind man looking straight into her eyes from such a distance.

"…Very well then." And faster than she could even register, she had been grabbed, and now there were three people standing in front of the portal.

Zaki could hear Ichigo yelling after them, demanding an explanation. She could hear Grimmjow berating him. She looked back over her shoulder, smiling in an apologetic way, eyes wide and fearful.

"Sorry for everything," she ducked her head and followed Tousen and Grimmjow into the closing portal, "but I really don't wanna die."

* * *

The girl had to be one of the most annoying people Grimmjow had ever met. She was constantly asking questions- about the Gargantua, about Las Noches, about the most random things- and complaining when she did not get an answer.

And if he heard her say "Mah" one more time…

"Mah, Tousen-san? Why is everything white here? It's such a cliché."

Yeah, that is _it. _Grimmjow whirled on her, snarling at her to shut her mouth when Tousen grabbed his shoulder, the epitome of disapproval.

"Grimmjow. You have already disobeyed more than one order tonight. Do not add to your punishment by hurting this girl."

Ugh, the girl looked way too smug at that statement. "Heh, they're not allowed to hurt me? Sweet.~"

He just rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Please, I don't see what's so special about some coward-ass albino girl."

The girl stopped, eye twitching in annoyance. Grimmjow paid her no mind.

-Now, what Grimmjow didn't know was that Zaki, with her overdramatics and flamboyant nature, was quite the victim of bullying, especially over her appearance, which gave rise to one of the oddest berserker buttons throughout the Soul Society. Hitsugaya's was being treated like a child. Old man Genryusai's was the overuse of bankai. Zakuro's was being called an albino.-

She suddenly rushed at him, shaking his shoulders. "Do these eyes look blue or pink to you?!" Despe She let go, only to shove her arm in front of his face. "And look! My skin is TAN! Tan, you damned hipster!"

"'Hipster?' What the hell, woman?! I'll kill you!"

"Yeah! That stupid blue hipster-hair! Take it back, or I'm taking you down with me!"

"I'd like to see you _try_."

They were in each other's faces, noses almost touching, snarling at each other, when a pale hand waved in between their faces, breaking them apart.

"Now, now, children! You're gonna have to break it up, I don' want ta be tellin' Aizen-sama there's blood all over these nice white walls."

Great. Ichimaru. That bastard always ruined Grimmjow's fun, and he was more annoying than Tousen. As he walked into Aizen's throne room he thought 'Well, at least that girl has some backbone.'

The girl was back to her annoying self. He could hear her shouting "Daddy!" through the thick door, and Ichimaru's condescending laugh, his "Good to see you too, Zachii".

…Wait. Daddy?!

Whatever. It could wait. That damn Aizen was staring down at him, looking so smug… Tch. He hated being told what to do…

And Tousen's annoying voice…

Like hell he was going to say sorry, he was just doing what Ulquiorra should've done. He could've killed that Shinigami brat easy and gotten this whole mess over with.

And 'Injured a valuable asset to our cause' his ass. He moved the girl out of the way, didn't he? She should consider herself lucky he even did that, if she was Ichimaru's daughter she should be stronger, anyway.

Oh, and now this ex-captain thinks he could execute him? Pathetic, all this justice bullshit…

What?! That arm… Was that his arm?! No! It's gone!

Fuck!

* * *

Zakuro twirled in happiness. Her daddy came to meet her!~ After spending a few minutes around her father's comforting spiritual pressure, her headaches were gone and so were her worries. She had so much she wanted to talk to him about, but nooo, he had to go talk to Aizen-sama, leaving his "poor adorable daughter alone in this brave new world with such strange people in it!", to which he countered "I could always send ya back to your mother."

So for now, she would use every bit of her patience (of which there was not much), to wait for her dad to return, preferably with directions to the nearest shower. She did not know if Arrancar transmitted diseases through blood, but she really didn't want to find out, and the blood that got sprayed on her back in Karakura town was staring to dry on her skin. Worst of all, it was going to stain her scarf.

And you do not fuck with Zakuro's scarf. It was an unwritten rule within her circle of (former) friends.

Now, we could go on for a while about Zakuro's scarf or her odd chain of thought, but there are more pressing matters at hand. At that moment, Grimmjow was storming down the hall, and at that moment he was pissed as all hell, and at that moment, he needed something or someone to take his anger out on. And at that moment, his course collided with Zaki's.  
"You," he seethed, eyes burning with hate. Zakuro froze mid-twirl, eyes wide at the malicious feel of his spiritual pressure. She had barely turned to face him when his good hand slammed her neck into the wall, a cero building in the palm of his hand. Zaki could feel the heat burning against her neck as she tried to scramble out of his grasp, clawing and kicking with no use. "You little bitch! If you weren't there, if you didn't _fucking get in the way of my fight_ I would still be an Espada!"

"W-wait!" She could feel the skin under her scarf starting to bubble from the heat of the building cero.

"If you kill me, my da-" He pulled her back and slammed her back into the wall, growling lowly. The cero was glowing brighter.

"Stop! I can help you get back your rank!" Her eyes were wide, desperate. That gave him pause. His eyes regained a bit of clarity, but Zaki could still see the rage, could still hear his labored breathing.

"Start talking, woman."

She gasped for air, shaking as he loosened his hold enough for her to be able to talk easily. "Listen… My, my dad, he knows I'm not that strong, right? S-so he'll want someone ta look after me, help me get stronger 'nd keep me safe. If you do it, it'll keep you from gettin' all the way demoted, r-right? Might even make ya more important! And I'm good at kido! I'll find a way to heal you!" Her bangs had fallen back into her eyes. Her face was covered with sweat and dried blood. She couldn't hide her fearful trembling. She looked pathetic.

Grimmjow let her go, allowing her to slide to the floor. He glared down at her disdainfully as she gasped for breath, wide orange eyes locked on his narrowed blue ones as she loosened her scarf.

"You're pathetic," he told her, "but you've got a deal. For now."

And he left her there, storming away, leaving a trail of blood the whole way.

Zakuro laughed shakily in relief. "Mah… I'm alive 'for now', neh? I'll have to find a way to turn that into 'forever'." She took off her scarf, performing a healing kido on her neck.

She was so afraid, she didn't even notice him bleeding all over her, she mused as she looked over her scarf, which was now a completely different shade of red…

* * *

**Author's Note: **First of all, I'm so sorry it has taken this long for chapter three! I completely understand if my readers are mad at me… I've had a difficult summer, but I promise I'll keep up with updating! Now, onto story notes:

Zaki's actions: I'm not going to lie; Zaki really is a coward. She's hard to motivate and would prefer to talk her way out of a fight or do recon than actually facing someone head on. That being said, she has a gift for strategy. So of course she wouldn't join in on a fight she didn't think she could win, or argue with Grim when she can feel his killing intent, or stay in Karakura when she thought she would be tried for treason. Grim will be a good influence on her in later chapters, I think.  
Zaki and Rukia: Before you even ask, I'm actually a fan of Rukia, but I can't see her liking Zaki. Zaki's too much like her father, and she exploits that to get what she wants. It would be very hard for Rukia to trust someone like that.

**Next Chapter: **Zaki and Grimmjow's arrangement! It probably won't go smoothly, but it's better than death, right? Plus, Zaki finds a kindred spirit in an Espada, who could it be? Special shout out to whoever guesses the lucky Espada! And finally, the Soul Society receives the new of Zakuro's betrayal! How will Izuru and Rangiku react?

Find out next time!


End file.
